Saturday, January 14, 2023

 January 14, 2023



Quote of the Day


"Young, gifted and black."


Weldon J. Irving 

American Songwriter

Title of song 1969

Friday, January 13, 2023

 January 13, 2023




Quote for the Day


"When they call you articulate, that's another way of saying 'He talks good for a black guy.'"


Ice-T [1958-}

In Independent, December 30, 1995

"Interview of the Year"

 January 13,  2023




DOES EVERYBODY  

HAVE  A  SONG  WITHIN THEM?

 

Does everybody have a song within them?

Do they? I don't  know - but I wonder, "Did

I try to sing some song I heard as a little kid 

and someone shushed me into silence?"

I've heard someone in our family say more

than once, "Nobody in our family can sing."

So when nobody's listening and I'm all alone,

I like to sing a song or two that I like. Who

knows? Maybe one of these days, there I am

getting up to sing and nobody knows I can't.

 

© Reflections, Andy Costello




Thursday, January 12, 2023

January 12, 2023




PLEASE  LEARN  TO  LAUGH

 

Spiritual teachers teach their disciples:

“Learn to watch, to listen, to wait.”

“Learn to start, to finish, but mainly

to be steady and ongoing in the long

mornings and afternoons of things.”  

But why don’t I hear them saying:

“Please learn to laugh! Laugh!"

It's okay, if you haven't learned 

from living enough life yet or if

you haven’t made enough mistakes

or said enough dumb things yet ....

It's okay. Life is more than this life.

        

 

© Reflections, Andy Costello

 January 12, 2023







Quote for Today


"He did not see any reason why the devil should have all the good tunes."


Rowland Hill [1744-1833]

Sermons.  From E. W. Broome, 

The Reverend Rowland Hill, p. 93

 




HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN 

AN “Oh no!”?

 

The title of my homily is, “Have You Ever Gotten an “Oh no!”

 

Years ago when I was stationed in Ohio, I got an,”Oh no!”

 

Have you ever gotten an “Oh no!” 

 

Sometimes they hurt.

 

I went to a skin doctor – a dermatologist – who found some pre-cancerous stuff on my forehead.  I had to put this skin stuff – white cream from out of a tube  - on my forehead for a month.  Then after the month was up I had to put another type of cream – stuff that will heal the mess – for  a second month.

 

Then “Presto!” I’d be handsome again.

 

He suggested January when I would not be on the road preaching.  He said this because in two weeks my face looked like peperoni pizza. I asked not to preach – but I could hear confessions – in the dark.

 

It was back around 1998 when people used the confession boxes almost always.

 

I was happy that people wouldn’t see my face – that is – till this lady came in – and sat in a chair facing me.  You could go to confession either way.

 

Well her head was down and I had my head in my hands. Then at the end, when it came time to make the sign of the cross and give her absolution, she saw my face as is – all red – all bloody – like a pizza as I said.

 

I didn’t know what to do, but I put out my hand to shake her hand and to say, “Go in peace.”  She didn’t know what to do either, so she shook my hand in return.  That’s when I got the “Oh no!”

Then she took her hand as  she was standing up, She rubbed her hand on her backside – and got out of there.

 

I said nothing.  It didn’t seem to be the time or the place to explain.

 

Then I said to myself, “So this is what people with leprosy must have felt like at times.”

 

Then I inwardly added, “I got a sermon here. I got a sermon here.”

 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

GOSPEL READING: FOR 1ST THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: MARK 1 40-45

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

 January 11, 2023





THE BIG IRON GATE

 

I drove past the big iron gate

at least 500 times. Today was

different. I was walking.

Nobody was around so I

walked up to the big black

iron bars. Locked. I looked

in and saw the big house at

the end of tan cement driveway.

It had big black doors as well. 

My guess was inside there were

lots of black locked doors – more.

“Not my world” I said to myself,

turned away, and kept walking

back into my world – where doors

were red or white – with a worn

welcome mat at the front door.

 

© Reflections, Andy Costello